


Drowning (In Your Eyes)

by SelinaBeckendorf



Series: Undercover Rebel [2]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Ezra almost drowns, Hence the not choosing to use archive warnings, It's okay because Jai does CPR, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Nothing is overly graphic, Oleg's an ass, The gay is more subtle in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:29:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22367200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SelinaBeckendorf/pseuds/SelinaBeckendorf
Summary: Still undercover at the Academy for Young Imperials on Lothal, Ezra didn't think it'd take this long to get into Imperial HQ to get the decoder the Rebels need. He also didn't think he'd almost die.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Jai Kell, Ezra Bridger/Jai Kell
Series: Undercover Rebel [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610062
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Drowning (In Your Eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> This one's a bit more angsty - As you can probably tell. This came to me in a dream, and so I decided to actually write it. It also ended up being a lot longer than I intended. But yeah! Warnings: Ezra almost drowns, but Jai saves him, and Ezra turns out okay. There are also brief mentions of my Rebels OC, Eileen, whom you will meet when/if I eventually post my Rebels Fic.
> 
> Anyway! Enough blabber, Selina! Onto the thing!
> 
> Enjoy y'all!

"Do you think they'll be making us do that again?"

"I hope not, this assessment sucked!"

The younger cadets of Squadron YED416 stood amongst themselves, discussing the latest assessment. A swimming test, essentially, only Taskmaster Grint and Commander Aresko made it unnecessarily difficult by making them go not only into the deepest pool on Lothal, but also giving them obstacles underwater and even realistic holos of sea creatures they might find and have to deal with, most of them being the most terrifying creatures known to man. Due to the nature of the assessment, Squadrons LRC077 and YED416 were combined and allowed to work together.

An older cadet of Unit Aurek, infamous throughout the Academy for being a bully by the name of Nazhros Oleg, chuckled darkly a few feet away from the younger cadets.

"Please. If you think this was bad, might as well drop out now. It's only going to get worse, and _my_ Empire doesn't need a bunch of chickens who only complain and cry for their mommies." Oleg taunted, glaring at the cadets with a sick grin.

That look quickly fell as someone shoved Oleg in his shoulder. "Back off, Oleg, they're just kids." Oleg turned in a second, appall turning to downright loathing when he laid eyes on the one that shoved him. Dev Morgan.

A good for nothing, pompous, cocky son of a bantha who doesn't know how to take a hint. All Morgan has done since he's joined Unit Aurek is hinder Oleg's chances of moving up and getting off this backwater skug hole Morgan actually calls home.

Well, today is going to be different. Because this time, Oleg was going to make sure he won this war he and Morgan declared on each other. No matter the cost.

****

Ezra glared at Oleg with the same intensity as Oleg's glare toward him. He was tired. He had another nightmare last night, worse than these other ones had been, and then with the assessment today... He was lucky to make it in the top five. He never had been a strong swimmer, and it's been a while since he's had to use that particular skill set.

To his surprise, Oleg actually... Smiled at him. Immediately, sirens went off in his head. Nazhros Oleg didn't just smile at people, especially when he hates you (And believe him, the feeling was mutual).

The familiar hum of the Force told him to duck, and he listened. He heard a faint whoosh sound as Oleg threw his fist that would've hit Ezra's face if he didn't dodge it.

Popping back up, his body went into Defense Mode, muscles tensing, bouncing on the heels of his feet for quick and easy movement, arms raised up and fists clenched to protect his face and neck.

Oleg threw a few more punches, all of which missed as Ezra dodged and weaved. He was vaguely aware of the crowd of cadets that began to swarm them, but shook his head. No no, clear your head. Focus on your opponent. It's the only way to survive, something he, unfortunately, learned the hard way back during the first few years of living on the street after Mom and Dad...

A fist to his stomach quickly brought him back to reality. Dammit, he let himself get distracted! Thankfully, it wasn't a particularly hard punch, and aside from discomfort, Ezra wasn't feeling too hurt physically. But _goddamn_ , was Oleg about to get it now.

Ezra threw punch after punch, even kicking him a few times. Oleg was skinny, but Ezra was fast, and he had the Force on his side, so he was able to land the majority of his hits, plus making sure he didn't cause any serious damage. Oleg may be an ass, but that doesn't mean he wanted to kill him.

Kinda wished Oleg felt the same with him, because this was where his memory gets fuzzy.

He must have blacked out or something, because one minute, he's dodging and punching and blocking, listening dutifully to the Force to help him survive, as he has to sometimes, and the next, there is pain, on his arms, chest, stomach, Oleg even got his legs, swiping them out from under him. A sharp jolt to the back of his head as he hit the floor had Ezra dazed. Shit. Hoped that wouldn't end up in a concussion. Lena would kill him. He struggled to get up, and he just kept getting hit, his movements too sluggish to listen to the warnings the Force was practically screaming at him. Something about the pool, he thought, but he couldn't pay close enough attention to what about the pool the Force was trying to warn him about.

Ezra slumped on the floor, panting and coughing, thankfully not coughing up blood. He faintly heard Oleg say something to him, but he was too exhausted to focus on what he was saying. He felt a harsh kick to his chest, right in the sternum.

He felt the air get knocked out of him as he fell backward, vaguely aware of the water surrounding him and pulling him deeper into the pool. He was so tired... It hurt to breathe, let alone think coherently...

He saw shapes above the surface, too disoriented to make them out, or try too. Black appeared in the edges of his vision and he felt a flash of fear, whether he sent it or was receiving it, he didn't know. Nor really cared.

The black completely overpowered his vision, and his consciousness was gone. 

****

Jai winced as Oleg whammied on Dev. He wanted to get involved to help him, so badly, but Zare held him back. Probably a good idea, since it was encouraged not to get involved in fights that didn't involve you from the start, but he still hated to see Dev get hurt.

So he watched the fight helplessly from the sidelines, already planning to apologize to Dev for not backing him up as they joked about a lot. And then Dev was unable to fight anymore, and Oleg didn't back down.

He didn't think Oleg would go that far. Dev was clearly hurt and in no condition to fight, slumped over in defeat. And Oleg kicked him into the pool.

Jai heard himself cry out Dev's name in horror as he and Zare ran to the edge of the pool. Dev was sinking, eyes closed, likely unconscious. Oleg held an arm out in front of him, stopping him from jumping in to save him.

"Let him be."

Jai never thought he could despise a person more. "Oleg, he'll drown if we leave him there!"

"Then let him! The Unit will be better without him." Oleg snarled at Jai.

Zare pulled Oleg away from Jai. "Oleg, we don't do that. We're supposed to work together, not kill each other!"

Jai didn't bother hearing the rest of that conversation, as he had taken his chance to jump in to save Dev.

Why did this pool have to be so deep? At this point, Dev had almost sunk completely to the bottom, and the water pressure from being this far below the surface made Jai's eyes feel like they were going to pop out of his head.

He had to get Dev above water, and soon. His lungs were starting to burn from holding his breath for so long, and Dev must've taken in water. Grabbing Dev's arm, he put it around his neck and held him around his waist as he kicked up off the pool floor, straight for the top.

Jai gasped for air as his head broke the surface of the water, coughing from the gasps of air he took in. "Zare!" He called, slowly swimming toward the edge of the pool. "Help me get him up!"

Zare sat at the edge of the pool, taking Dev's arm and dragging the boy onto dry land, Jai climbing up right behind him.

Zare set Dev onto his back, Jai and Zare sitting on either side of him. Zare ordered one of the younger cadets to get help while Jai held his ear to Dev's mouth. He didn't sound like he was breathing, nor did he look like it.

Kriff.

"Dammit, Dev Morgan, you are not dying on me today," Jai muttered as he put his hands on top of each other and placed the heel of his hand on Dev's sternum. He'll probably hurt it more, but he'd rather have Dev alive with a bruised sternum than dead, injured or not.

Putting all of his weight into the heel of his hand, Jai pressed down on Dev's sternum, beginning the chest compressions for CPR. He doesn't think he's ever been so grateful for the class they were required to take before officially joining a squadron.

Jai paid no mind to the crowd of cadets forming a circle around the three a respectful distance away. All he was focusing on was Dev. _Come on, Dev. Come on, Buddy, I **know** I still have time to save you_ he thought, maybe prayed, he didn't know.

He had been mentally counting the chest compressions, and when he got to thirty, he stopped, holding Dev's mouth open for the two rescue breaths before starting up the compressions again. 

The room was silent, and he hated it. They were all waiting for a supervisor to come over, check for a pulse, and pronounce Dev Morgan as a lost cause, he knew it.

He remembered Dev telling him after a particularly bad nightmare a week ago that the only family he had left was a twin sister. That they didn't talk about their parents because there was nothing to talk about: They were gone, and weren't coming back. He realized that if Dev died, someone was going to have to tell that girl that her only family was gone, and that she was all alone now.

Jai pushed the thought away. No. No, no one was going to tell Diana Morgan that her twin was gone because he was going to save him. He'd never forgive himself if he didn't.

By the second time Jai had done the rescue breaths on Dev Morgan, the crowd of cadets around them that still had them on took off their helmets and hung their heads. Even Zare was beginning to believe Jai was holding onto a fool's hope. The silence was deafening with grief, and surely it was just a matter of time until Jai gave up and began to grieve too.

And then a miracle happened.

As Jai was close to ending his third round of chest compressions, Dev's eyes flew open, quickly closing again as he began to cough harshly. Zare and Jai helped him sit up to get the rest of the water out of his lungs.

Dev hacked into his hand, holding on tight to Jai's as he and Zare both rubbed and patted Dev on the back to help him get it all out.

****

Once all the water was more or less expelled from his lungs, Ezra took in gulps of air, not really comprehending anything that's happened. All he knows is that one second, he and that bastard Oleg are fighting, and the next he's sitting by the pool, dripping wet, hacking up water that got into his lungs. And for some reason, he felt a weird burning in his chest whenever he tried to breathe.

What the _hell_ happened?

He felt a hand graze his temple as they brushed his hair out of his face, instinctively leaning into the touch. He took a moment to get his senses together, something he'd sorely need when he remembered where he was.

A surge of panic flooded his mind and it took several gulps of air to realize that it's not coming from him. It's coming from his bond with Lena. His bond with Kanan wasn't nearly as strong as his bond with Eileen yet, so it had to be her.

He sent her a mental message telling her that he's okay and the panic quickly turned to relief, his muscles relaxing and letting go of the tension from almost drowning.

The hum of the Force told him to open his eyes, and he did, finding himself face to face with Jai, who was also soaked.

"Jai?" He croaked, clearing his throat and coughing some more, ignoring the sudden thought that wow, Jai is really good-looking with his hair in his face like that.

Jai practically beamed at him, relief shimmering in his eyes. _His eyes are **ridiculously** pretty, holy Azihnda._ "Welcome back to the land of the living, Morgan. Thought we lost you for a second."

"What... What happened?" Ezra asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"You almost died, Morgan." Said a cadet that Ezra himself was not familiar with, but knew Jai was.

Ezra glanced from the unfamiliar cadet to Jai, who nodded. "You okay? How much do you remember?" Jai asked, placing both hands on Ezra's shoulders.

Ezra took a moment to answer the question, as he kept getting distracted by the way Jai looked at him. He grinned and shrugged once he had his answer, which also hurt. "Bits and pieces. I remember fighting Oleg, but it's fuzzy after that."

Jai helped him up, letting Ezra lean on him when he wasn't sure he could keep his balance, putting Ezra's arm around his neck and holding him by his waist. "We'll fill you in later. For now, we should get you to the med center, make sure you're gonna be alright."

Ezra nodded in silent agreement, ignoring the warmth that bloomed in the pit of his stomach when Jai put his hand on his waist.

He tried to take a step and tensed, wincing and sucking a breath threw his teeth. A sharp pain came from the ankle he tried to put his weight on. Great. Could today get _any_ better?

Jai held his free arm over Ezra's chest in a second, ready to catch him if he fell over. "You okay? What happened?"

"Ankle. Think I sprained it." Ezra focused on breathing. It hurt more than the last time he sprained his ankle, which meant he probably tore the ankle ligaments rather than just stretched them. _Lovely._

Jai winced, obviously sympathetic to the pain he was in. Maybe because he's been there? Ezra didn't know. He was exhausted, today was more eventful than he anticipated. He just wanted a nap.

"Here." Jai shifted them around, trying to be mindful of Ezra's wounded ankle, wrapping Ezra's arms around his neck and bending down to grab the underside of his knees.

Ezra let him, trusting him not to hurt him more. He tried to help by hoisting himself up with his arms around Jai's neck, wrapping his legs around Jai's waist once he was settled.

Certain that he was secure, Jai started walking after the other cadet, apparently having no qualms about carrying Ezra on his back.

Ezra leaned his head on Jai's shoulder, comforted by the warmth of the other boy. "Jai?"

Jai hummed in acknowledgment.

"Thank you."

Jai turned his head a little to get a better look at Ezra, smiling at him. "Anytime, Dev. Try not to fall asleep until we get you to the med center. You hit your head pretty hard, I wanna make sure you didn't get a concussion or anything before we let you sleep."

Ezra groaned. Almost drowned, a sprained ankle, several bruises, _and_ a possible concussion?

Lena is going to _kill_ him.


End file.
